Kids Research Express

Cranberry, common name for several species of low vines of a genus of the heath family, and for their small, sour, seedy fruit. The plants, which belong to the same genus as the blueberry , have drooping, pink flowers and small, thick, evergreen leaves. The small, or European, cranberry grows wild in marshlands of temperate and colder regions of Europe and North America. Most of the cranberry crop produced in the United States each year is canned as sauce or jelly or bottled as juice. The cowberry, or mountain cranberry, is common in both Europe and North America. It is gathered and sold in considerable quantity but is rarely cultivated. The highbush cranberry, with its clusters of white flowers followed by red berries, is a shrub of the honeysuckle family. Its fruit is sometimes used as a substitute for cranberries. Scientific classification: Cranberries belong to the genus Vaccinium of the family Ericaceae. The small, or European, cranberry is classifed as Vaccinium oxycoccos; the

Grapevines Grapevines are stems that climb on walls and fences by means of specialized supporting organs, called tendrils. Palmately veined leaves arise alternately along the stem. In most varieties, tendrils arise opposite two of every three successive leaves. Flowers, usually greenish, are borne in clusters and have staminate and pistillate flowers sometimes occurring on separate plants. Fruit is borne on 2-year-old canes, which are removed after harvesting the grapes. Grapes are attacked by a great number of insect pests and plant diseases, of which the most common are black rot and downy mildew. See Diseases of Plants. Scientific classification: Grapes belong to the family Vitaceae. The European grape is classified as Vitis vinifera, the northern fox grape as Vitis labrusca, the summer grape as Vitis aestivalis, the riverbank grape as Vitis riparia, and the muscadine grape as Vitis rotundifolia. Gymnosperms - (Latin gymn-, “naked”; Greek sperma, “seed”), common name for any seed-